Chicago Night's Past
by TheLionTree
Summary: Logan makes friends with an entertainer at a speakeasy and her lover.  Short story exploring Logan as a person.  Takes place in the 1920's. T for mild language and some adult situations.
1. Chapter 1

_This is a 3 chapter story I have been working on. Logan in this story is younger, so less aggressive. I choose to interpret him as having become more off putting as time advanced. You aren't going to have any battles, this is more of an exploration of the psyche. _

_This story takes place in the 1920's, so not all of the language will be sensitive, please understand any iffy verbiage reflects the bigotry of the time and not myself. Thanks! Enjoy._

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><p>The lights dimmed on the small Speakeasy . Grubby men at round tables clinched cigars, drank, squinted in the light cast by candles on tables. The air was stale with smoke, body odor, and bathtub gin. Unspoken anticipation made the intoxicated patrons hearts beat with a quickened heat.<p>

A light. It started out dim, yellow, and sparkled in the darkness over the stage. The light swung around, leaving a trail behind it, and landed at the bottom of the stage. An explosion of color, bathed the stage in a vivid purple light, and for a second revealed a long legged dark haired woman crouched on the floor.

Darkness descended the room again, held breath exhaled; chairs shifted from the weight of men from all walks of life. Another yellow light appeared in the darkness and sparkled with a heated frenzy, as a sultry tune began to play. The lights on the stage came up just enough to reveal the figure of a long legged pale woman, wearing a black kimono dress, with a belt around the middle. Her black finger curls reflected the pale glow of the gas lamps around her, and she kicked a leg out of the long slit of the kimono, dangling it in air like a porcelain object meant for worship. She brought her foot down to the floor, causing a small explosion of light and sparks to erupt from around her tall stiletto shoe.

Another leg extended into the darkness, the light playing along the pristine pale flesh, then set down on the ground, causing another explosion. The music picked up, and the woman on the stage swerved her hips around in a seductive manner, turned suddenly, and made a show out of loosening her belt. The men in the audience shifted to the ends of their seats, drinks, cigarettes, dates, all forgotten. She shimmied her kimono down past her shoulders, and rolled right one, and then the left one with a slow languishing gesture. The woman extended both of her arms quickly, and a blast of fireworks blinded all of the people in the audience.

Once the light died down the woman stood on stage, still, in a skimpy black dress with fringe. It was the style of the day to wear these dressed made to accent a boyish figure, but this woman was to curvy to look boyish. The dress was lower cut, and shorter in skirt than any proper woman would be comfortable in. The red painted lips of the woman parted as she began to shift and dance again. Her hand rested on her skirt, the cloth inching up slowly, slowly, until the edge of black stocking, with a garter holding it in place, became visible.

A man in the audience wolf whistled. The woman made her fingers to look like a gun, lowered it to her hips, and announced "Hey cowboy," and pulled the imaginary trigger. The finger gun caused a long jet of multicolored light, sparks, and gentile explosions to move out into the audience and spread over the heads of the men. As the crowd stared in disbelief, the woman cleared her throat, and all heads turned to watch her. The performer winked, turned, shook her fanny, and walked off stage.

As the curtains slid closed, men in the audience applauded and called out for more. A man named Logan refrained from showing his exuberance, and instead simply downed a shot of rotgut. He placed a hat over his head, covering twin peaks of spiked hair that started from his forehead and moved out towards the back, grabbed his coat, and headed towards the door. Something about the show bothered Logan, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. These makeshift speakeasies always had a scummy atmosphere that set him on edge, yet he couldn't think of another place in Chicago that he felt more at home. A dark haired man, with a thin pencil mustache, moved out of a private office in the hall, a long filtered cigarette between his fingers, and a meticulous silk suit.

"So, you think you can keep the peace in this place Mr. Howlett?"

"Call me Logan and yeah...Sure. Jobs a job."

A dirty smile creased the face of Dino Rossi, he put an arm around the thick shoulders of his new employee, and directed him into the office. The cheap red wallpaper reminded Logan of bordello, but he kept the opinion to himself. Dino went over pay, hours, and expectations, the biggest being to keep the patrons in-line, so the cops stayed out. Dino was full blooded Sicilian and was interested in keeping his boss happy with how he was running the establishment.

Chicago had been going downhill ever sense the Americans outlawed liquor, and criminals like Dino ruled the city. Logan weighed the pros and cons of staying here in his mind while Dino chatted with him, it was close to his home, Candada, but it was a dirty city that smelled like hell.

"What is the name of the woman who performed with the fireworks?" Logan interrupted.

"Ahhh, you liked her? The men always love her shows. Between you and me she's a bit of a cold fish. Stage name is Sapphire, which seems to common for the money she brings in. Should name her mint, 'cause she makes me one." Dino said. Logan remained stoic next to the man. "Hah, ah, well that should be all Mr. Howlett, I'll see you here tomorrow at 10pm. I'll work you this week doing security backstage. Gig's real easy like, just keep the guys from molesting the dames, and you'll get your pay check."

"Thanks," Logan said as he adjusted his hat, and headed out into the cold wind. Snow had fallen earlier in the day and collected around the edges of the building. For a moment he thought he could smell the air of fresh snowfall on the forest floor, but it was quickly replaced by the smog off of a Model T that ambled by.

Looking at the gas lit street it occurred to him what was wrong with Sapphire's performance: didn't smell right. If she was using pyrotechnics there should have been that tale tell odor of gunpowder and smoke. The only smoke in the speak easy had come off of the lit cigarettes of the patrons. He pulled his trench coat tighter, less from the cold and more from the sobering realization that she was probably another one. It had been decades sense he'd met another person with powers, and he certainly hadn't expected to meet them in a night club.

The isolation of living so long and having so many secrets had driven him out of the wilds of Canada into the big city, but the constant flux of people around him had only furthered his solitude. Hopeful that he would meet someone who understood him, he caught himself looking out for people sympathetic in kindness or likeness, but rarely did he find someone with abilities like Sapphire.

Logan slipped inside a tenement with mildewed bricks and a well worn roof. He made his way up the old wooden stairs, past the slumbering people inside, and turned the key on his room. He sat for a second on the edge of the bed and looked out the window. Maybe landing a job at Dino's Speakeasy was the best thing to happen to him in this century.

"Nineteen Twenty Two, things are looking up," he said as he took a swig of gin off his hip flask. Logan settled back into bed, on top of the covers, and slept soundly for the first time in days.


	2. Chapter 2

_part two of three. I'll try to post the last chapter next Wednesday. Thanks for your reviews thus far, give me a shout if you like where it's going._

_Also like I said, I'm basing this dialog on how people talked in the 20's...some of the words used in here are not ones I would ever use personally. Try to remember people were more bigoted back then. I'm also basing some of this dialog on how I've heard performers from the time talk/old movies. Kind of a Jive, Jazzy feel._

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><p>A wooden corridor, rows of dresses, private rooms and mirrored counters with big lights beaming out. Powder left over from painted faces, the puff releasing the soft odor of makeup into the air, alluring like the very essence of a woman. "Worked worse places," Logan thought as he made his rounds through the halls. The air around him would only ever be still for a moment, and then another performer would push past him in the hall.<p>

"Excuse me shorty, gotta hurry," lips thick with red smirked.

"Guess they put you back here 'cause you don't take up to much space. If I run you over I don't think I'd notice it," long, long legs, on a woman who stood over six feet in her shoes.

"Logan, darling, will you make sure that creep isn't out back when I'm off my shift please?" big blue eyes, batting just enough to make her seem charming in her insincerity.

Adjusting his tie, and making his way through the hall, a keen nose and eye on alert, Logan moved past the room he knew Sapphire was in. Today was Friday, arriving at his Monday shift he had been disappointed to learn she only worked Thursday through Sunday, and Thursday was his day off. Looking into her room he saw a pale face regarding itself in the mirror, her lips the same crimson as every girl in the place, but her mouth seemed made to be painted. She seemed detached, like a statue, and he turned his eyes so she wouldn't notice him staring.

"I know you're there," Sapphire said as she extinguished her cigarette, "I don't give autographs, and this isn't a peep show, so I guess you'd better have a damn good reason for standing on the other side of my door."

"Don't get all worked up doll, I'm the new security guy, and you ain't my type."

Sapphire watched him from the mirror, her smile blatant in the reflection, "And you ain't my type either. Guess that makes us squares. Now my girl is coming soon, please don't give her any trouble when she comes in. She's colored, you see, and some of the security boys don't much like her coming round here."

"I ain't got no gripes with nobody on account of race, religion, or creed. Good to know though. So tell me, that little fire show you put on, you always been able to do that?"

The dark harried woman turned and looked at Logan, her fingers twitched as if she was reaching for a cigarette to ease her nerves. Finding none she simply pressed her lips together in enough of a simulation to ease the need to smoke for now. She looked the man up and down, broad mussels, thick hair, not too tall. She smiled at him as if she had figured something out and wheeled back around to look in the mirror again, fussing with her hair.

"You don't strike me as a pyrotechnics fan, so I'll just keep my secrets to myself. Aids in an air of mystery and all," Sapphire responded.

"It's been a long time sense I've seen someone who could do something like that. Guess I figured you'd be happy to know that you're not alone in this wide world."

The woman reached over and grabbed a real cigarette out of her purse, she lit it neurotically. Smoothing back the kerchief keeping her hair straight she muttered, "We're all sinners, never thought I was unique."

"I'm not talking about sinnin' doll, I'm talking about the ability to make things manifest, or the ability to heal yourself and just keep living when others keep dying. Guess I thought I might have found a sympathetic ear."

"You're talking about miracles. You know the funny thing about someone who'd be able to do such things aaaaaaa, your name is?"

"Call me Logan."

"The funny thing about someone who'd be able to perform miracles on demand, Logan, is I reckon that person would get real tired of everyone knowing about it. Might even start to think it's a curse."

"Ain't no curse, ain't no blessing the way I see it babe."

"Sure enough you found someone who's calling you babe. Night ain't even early yet," a dark skinned woman interrupted as she pushed past Logan into Sapphire's dressing room and made herself at home. The newcomer was beautiful, like an Egyptian Queen Logan had seen the picture of in a museum, and then she smiled like a cat.

"Hazel, meet the new security guard Logan, Logan, this is Hazel. I'm Sapphire, but I'm sure word's already reached."

"Loud and clear. Well babe, if you ever want to talk about miracles again."

"I'll know whom to talk to."

Logan moved out of the room slowly, pulling the curtain to the dressing room shut as he walked away. He wasn't secure in letting her know that he might be in a similar set of circumstances, but nothing about the girl seemed dangerous to him.

He had a nose for danger after all. Making his rounds through the hall, back along the cat walk and through back stage he kept and ear out for any trouble. When he found his way back around by Sapphire's dressing area he heard soft breath coming from her room, turning he saw through a crack in the curtain Hazel resting her lips on Sapphire's, and some of her unease made sense.

He turned his head quickly and returned to his pointed rounds, stopping to pull a man off one of the performers. Something about Sapphire kept his head spinning, even though she wasn't the kind of girl who would go for a man like him...hell a man at all. "Cold fish, I bet," he muttered under his breath. What of it though? So she was more than just different, could he judge her? Perhaps being with Hazel made Sapphire feel like being able to shoot sparks out of her fingers wasn't so odd.

The hours of the evening moved on, and Logan kept up his paces through the women's rooms. He managed to skulk along in a way that made most of the women seem at ease, but probably they had been used to security sense this was one of the few joints in Chicago that served booze after it was made illegal. He'd tried his hand at slugging down the cheep bathtub Gin that was served in this establishment. Despite his hopes, his healing powers kept him from feeling any kind of numbness. Rather the nasty aftertaste of the drinks made him wonder what in hell he was doing in Chicago and why hadn't he come to his senses and returned to the woods?

As the club closed down Logan started slowing his patrols, when he rounded the corner to the back dressing rooms he heard a skirmish in Sapphires' room. Pulling back the curtain he revealed Dino backing his performer into a corner. Dino's hand was on her hip, and he was pressing in so that she'd be pinned up against a wall. Hazel was standing in the shadows, obviously enraged, but to afraid of upsetting the white owner of the establishment to do anything.

"Come on Sapphire, you're in big demand. Some big boys from high up in the families want to see you, take you out to dinner, show you around their nice hotel rooms. Come on, it would be a swell time, more than a broad like you deserves. You're wasting my time in this establishment if you won't lighten up a little and show my patrons a good time."

"Mr. Rossi, my floor show brings in more people than any other dame in this joint. No one can do the things I do and I feel like that's enough."

"Yeah, maybe it is for them that watches the show, but why not let ole'Dino show you a good time? Huh? I bet you and me could make a splash on the town. You know I don't like broads turning me down, so just say yes and spare me the heart break."

"Boss, everything's locked up, you need anything else?" Logan interrupted.

Dino turned and faced Logan, his cheeks red with anger, but the thin man in the pin striped suit held his temper back. "Logan, yeah, uh, I was just trying to convince Miss Smith here that she should have a drink with me, she isn't real kind towards it."

"Perhaps Sapphire has something else to do tomorrow, bub."

"Yeah, gosh Logan, thanks. I sure forgot," Sapphire said as she collected her hat, purse, and coat. She nodded at Hazel who jumped out of her corner like a cat, and the two women pushed out of the room towards the door, "See I got to pick up my new dress for the show, and uh...See the doctor for a checkup. Good night Mr. Rossi."

With that the room was empty except for the two men in it. Daggers passed from Dino's eyes to Logans skull, but the short man didn't falter.

"That be all boss?" Logan asked.

"Yeah. Next time do me a favor, and mind your own business pal."

"Sure thing bub. Sure thing," Logan grumbled as he went to the hat stand, removed his hat and coat, and made his way out into the cold Chicago night. The wind kicked up as soon as he was outside and he grumbled at the darkness, "Next time I'll mind my own business by ripping you from bow to stern for treating a lady like that."

"He's a monster, but he pays my bills," the cool voice of Sapphire added as she moved out of the shadows and started to keep pace with Logan. Hazel followed behind, her teeth shining as she smiled at Logan for having saved her. Logan snorted in surprise, the wind must have hidden their scents, but he was glad for the company.

"Now darlin', after I finish a night at Mr. Rossi's Good Time Show Place, I like to help myself and my girl to a nice piece of pie. Course we gotta sit in the back so Hazel can join us, and we're gonna get funny looks, but in this place questions don't' come with the funny looks."

"Sounds fantastic," Logan said, "but I'm not much for socializing."

"Nonsense, angel, we gotta pay you back for getting Sapphire out of that bit o'trouble," Hazel added.

"If you buy me some coffee to go with the pie, I'll let you ladies keep me company for awhile," Logan said, "but don't go expecting it all the time."

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><p>A restaurant at the edge of the black ghetto, not too far from where the club was located, was cleverly named only "Eats." Its red neon sign advertised the simple name, with a glow that lit across the pavement like a stain, and trailed off into the cold night air. The diner was shabby, the turquoise tile, recently installed, was garish and clashed with the old wooden bar. A soda jerk doubling as a waitor leaned lazily behind the bar and only barely lifted his eyes to greet the new comers to his establishment.<p>

The three companions made their way to the ill lit section in the rear of the restaurant, beyond the sign that said "Colored Section." Sapphire picked out a booth that seemed the least neglected and the three people made themselves at home. In the middle of the table a large piece of graffiti was carved into the table that read "City ate my hopes & draems." The waiter made his way across the room to the booth with a fluid, slow movement, like a spider sneaking up on its prey, and planted three menus' on the table.

"No need honey, three cherry pies, two waters, and coffee for the gentleman here," Sapphire ordered. She smiled brilliantly at the waiter who stared back without any change in expression. He scooped up the three menu's, turned, and silently went over to the bar and muttered their orders into the window.

"She always tries to make him smile at her, but that man is made out of something gloomy that don't disperse," Hazel said.

"Yeah, guess kindness cost extra round here," Logan said.

"So, you don't seem to be from around here, you sound like someone from farther north," Sapphire said to Logan.

"And you sound like someone from farther south."

"She is," Hazel added as she grinned at Sapphire. "She's from New Orleans, Louisiana. Her daddy was a revival preacher, and her momma was a converted sinner."

"That's enough Hazel, I'm sure Logan's not interested in my life story. Not much to tell either way."

"You might be surprised. Like I said it's rare to run into your own kind, so I'm interested in whatever you have to tell."

Hazel quirked her eyebrow and looked over at Sapphire who defensively lit a cigarette and watched the smoke trail off the end a bit. "Mr. Logan seems to be a healer, kinda like I'm an fireworks expert. Guess he figured me out somehow. Anyways, I don't much like to talk about it. Sin's not something you should brag about, and God's punishment for it should be carried like the cross it is."

"Golly-gee, there you go again. What if God don't think you're a sinner none and what if what you can do isn't a punishment for liking girls? Huh? Did you ever think about that?" Hazel scolded her partner.

"Shhhh," Sapphire responded. "I mean could you talk any louder? Mr. Smiles behind the counter already thinks we're freaks; don't need to go advertising it to the city."

Logan adjusted in his booth seat; his feet only barely scraping the ground, making him feel uncomfortably small. He listened to the woman across from him carry on and found himself wondering if it was smart to be talking to them at all. He'd come across other gifted individuals in the past, and revealing his knowledge had yielded a variety of results. He guessed the reason he reached out to Sapphire was out of loneliness and a need to find answers for whatever demon had brought him to Chicago. He'd found himself around the world, fighting in the trenches of World War I, on whaling ships back when the oil was in more demand, in trapping parties looking for fur, but this artificial life in the city seemed so hollow and unfamiliar.

He'd guessed he'd come to this place hoping to catch up with modern times, least the leave him in the dust. He remembered when places like Chicago were little more than settlements, and now they were erecting huge buildings all over the country, electric lights filled the sky, and cars were zooming down mud roads that used to be only paths. The two women across from him seemed like exotic statues made of the time they lived in, with their slick boyish dresses, and their short cropped finger curls. Maybe meeting a person with powers in a place like this gave him hope there was something new that would make the modern times worth living in. If it turned out just to be another disappointment maybe he'd just finally become some kind of man-animal roaming the woods forever.

When the stoic waiter brought their food, Logan joined the two women in eating pie while he sipped his coffee and listened to them gossip about the working girls at the Speak Easy. As they talked he felt a twinge of something that made him wish he could justify getting close to someone like these two had with each other. Love seemed like a distant and abstract thing to him, something hardly worth the price. Watching someone you care deeply about getting old and dying while you keep your youth, well, it was a greater hell than the one Sapphire could damn herself to.

"So, is Dino always giving you a hard time?" Logan broke his silence.

"Yeah, I think he's sweet on me. I'm not so sweet on him."

"He's not her type," Hazel added with a smile.

"You know, it doesn't bother me that you are," Logan found himself unable to finish the sentence.

The two women looked at Logan with blank faces, their eyes lined with fear. He just chuckled and waved away some of Sapphire's smoke.

"We're not...we're..." Sapphire stuttered.

"It doesn't bother me, but you might want to keep your curtain closed tighter. I think if Dino caught you two he'd be more than a little miffed," Logan said.

"We're not..."

"Shut up baby," Hazel said as she put her hand on Sapphires'. The dark haired woman looked over into her lovers brown eyes, and the two exchanged something Logan hadn't felt in a lifetime. "If Logan wasn't going to be neat about it, he'd have already said something by now, huh? I think he's just telling us he understands. He must be a pretty enlightened cat."

"Never much related to cats," Logan muttered into his coffee.

"You strike me as the kind of man who likes dogs better," Hazel said with a grin.

"Dogs are alright in a pinch. Just be careful, I'm not there every day to keep Dino off your back."

"Yeah, and thanks for that. I'm sure you know if he found out that Hazel didn't just come over from her night club to help me sew my dresses...well...I'd be black balled from every club in the city."

"Not that it would be the hell she seems to think it would be," Hazel added.

"You sing?" Logan asked.

"Baby, I sing long and strong, all night. I work at a blues club on the edge of the black district not far from here, and when I work my magic it lights up the night with my own kind of fire."

"I'm not much for Jazz."

"Jazz ain't the blues baby. The blues is something you feel down in your soul, something that speaks to all of us, and lets itself out with a long, sad kinda cry. Looking at you, I'd think you'd understand the blues more than most folks."

For the first time in years, Logan found himself chuckling at something with sincerity in his heart. "You got me, doll," he added for effect.

"She's got me too," Sapphire added with a smile.

Hazel winked at Logan, "would you like to hear how we met."

"You bought me some coffee, guess I'll listen to whatever you want to tell."

"Good, cause not many people get to hear this story. I was living with this no good, dog kind of a man. He treated me real poor like. He'd lock me in our room on this tenement, beat me, make me smoke dope, all kinds of nasty things. Then one day he wandered out the door, drunk, and left the key in the hole. I was too upset to check for that, but Sapphire heard my sobs, opened the door, and pulled me into her room. We just kinda stuck after that. That man came looking for me, but Sapphire lied and said I'd gone. Then he got evicted for not paying rent, and now I hope his ass has drowned in Lake Michigan."

"I tell people she's my help. I tell them I can't pay her too well, so I let her stay with me for free. Keeps people from asking too many questions. Our apartment lady don't care much about who lives there, but she's not going to like two women together, especially a white girl with a negro."

"Sounds like you're both pretty brave," Logan said, "now I think I'm going to go to my own apartment and get some sleep."

As Logan reached for his hat from the hook next to him, Sapphire reached out and touched his hand, her red nails and pale skin contrasted the well worked leather of his own skin. "Thank you again, I really...I'm so glad for your help tonight...and you're right, I am special...Knowing that you are too, gosh, I never thought there was others...I guess I need to think about it, but thanks for making a girl not feel so alone in this big cruel world."

The short man just nodded and headed out the door into the night. As he walked down the pavement he noticed his feet seemed a little lighter because of his new friends. Logan was hesitant to allow these two women to take a place in his heart, but he couldn't help but think of them as kindred spirits.

"It would be nice to have some semblance of family again," he thought, "some people to care about, and have care about me."

"It never turns out well for you. I'd forget how to love, and save other people the pain of dying, or at least me having to kill them," a male voice echoed across time into Logan's ears, as he caught himself looking at the fire in one of the streetlights again. He tried to put the thought out of his mind; that person couldn't find him here, the smell of the cars and factories had to do a lot to hide his smell. Turning the key to the hovel he occupied Logan entered inside to find his bed and get some rest.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry this was so late. It needed editing before I put it out..and I've been obsessed with my goofy fallout stories, enjoy!_

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><p>As the weeks wore on Logan kept finding himself at the cafe with Hazel and Sapphire, after the club. Most of the night was spent with the two women gossiping about the club while Logan listened quietly. Afterwards he'd head towards his tenement with a satisfied feeling that he wasn't so alone in the world, but something in the back of his mind warned him that things were too good to continue like this. Logan bit back his insecurities and told himself he was deserving of friendship, just like everyone else. Hazel and Sapphire were so contented in their lives it gave him hope that meeting them meant things would be peaceful for awhile.<p>

Straightening the tie on his pinstripe suite, Logan looked in the mirror, and put his hat on. He stepped out into the cold Chicago streets and hurried down the paved sidewalks towards the club. Snow flurried around his body when he got to the ramshackle door at the back of the stage and gained entry to backstage. His nostrils were filled with the smell of sweat, makeup, and women's perfume over the base smell of the oiled stage wood. Placing his hat and coat on the rack he made his way slowly towards the front to check in with the boss.

Passing Sapphire's room Logan paused and turned, his nose catching the hint of something in the air that didn't mix with the normal smells of the speakeasy. Peering inside he noticed the room was a disheveled mess, the hint of sex and fear still piquing in the air. He leaned down and picked up an empty ceramic dish that held face powder in it and turned it over in his hands, hoping whatever happened in here wasn't what it seemed. That's when the faint smell of cheap cologne grew more powerful and Logan heard someone behind him.

Turning Logan looked up into the slick face of Dino, the club's front man. Dino sneared at the small stocky man and pushed his way past Logan into the room.

"Sapphire quit, made quite the scène. Happened yesterday night while you were off work. Pity…she brought in a lot of money."

"Listen bub, something really wrong happened in this room, maybe you should act like a man and own up to what really happened, before I turn around and beat the confession out of you."

Dino sneered, as he into his pocket he pulled out a small handgun and pointed it at Logan. "I didn't think you'd take the news too well. I know you were getting chummy with that whore and her friend. I don't think I need to tell you that you're fired Mr. Howlett. Now get out of here before the other bodyguards have to take you out in a mop bucket."

Reaching forward to swing at Dino, Logan felt a large muscular hand clamp down on his, and turned his head to see two men behind him, also armed. Logan lifted his hands up into the air, every muscle in his body wanted to lash out and murder Dino, but he knew when he was outmanned. The bouncers shoved him towards the door, giving him just enough time to retrieve his hat and coat. Logan found himself outside in the snow, silent, defeated, and disappointed. He looked up at the flakes coming down from the grey formless sky and wondered if they heard the outrage screaming in his mind. Placing his hat on his head, Logan moved to the only place he knew to go to, the cafe with the "Eats" sign.

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><p>Several months passed, Logan picked up work as a dock hand taking freight off and on the ships that came into the Port of Chicago. Many of the crates held cargo manufactured in the states to be shipped elsewhere in America, but every so often something exotic would drift off of the vessel and make him long for adventure. The only thing keeping him in Chicago was a need to find out what happened to his friends at the club.<p>

He'd developed a ritual, every night, a few hours before going on shift Logan would have his food and coffee at the diner he'd spent so many nights at with Sapphire and Hazel at. Logan would take a quite table in the corner near the front, and idly eye anyone who came through the door. After months of waiting for a familiar face to enter, he'd begun to think the city had swallowed up the two women. Perhaps whatever deed Dino had committed in the Speak Easy had spilled out into another place, and claimed the life of the two women he cared about.

"Should have known better," he muttered one evening over a half drunk third cup of coffee. He leaned back and looked the word "Eats" glowing in the window, and something about the simplicity of it made him realize that this was the last night he could spend waiting for the past to return to him.

All things considered, a few good months were better than anything he'd had in years. Fate had rendered him immortal, and that meant, in the end, Logan always ends up alone; having people in your life just leads to hurt. "I was a fool to think it could be any different," he muttered as he stood up and left a dollar and some change for the food and tip.

As he walked to work Logan looked up to see the few stars that could break through the light pollution of the city. A cloudless winter night meant it would be colder than normal and he found himself grateful he'd grown up in the frozen wastes of Canada.

It was then that Logan felt a soft touch on his shoulder that caused him to whip around and come face to face with a surprised Hazel.

"Logan? I hoped it was you," she said with a weary smile.

"Hazel. Hell, I'd given up on ever seeing you again," Logan responded as the woman leaned in and hugged him tight. He closed his eyes for a second and regarded her with a removed sense of attachment.

"How have you been honey? Wait, never mind, it's cold out here, why don't you come with me to the apartment and say hi?"

Logan watched the smiling woman pursed her lips, seeming to expect a particular reaction from him. Something about the circumstances made him hesitant to agree to go with her. He wasn't sure if he was worried about what he'd find out and go after Dino in a fit of rage, or if he just didn't want to risk getting close to these women again. Whatever it was he decided to ignore it, "Sure, but we can't be long. I got fired from the Speakeasy and have been doing early morning work at the docks."

* * *

><p>Arriving at a small tenement on the edge of the Negro section, Hazel led Logan to an apartment not much larger than his. It had a simple quilt on a large bed that took up most of the room, a small wood burning stove provided heat and a place to cook, and next to a window sat a small bundled figure in a rocking chair. As Logan entered the figure turned to look at who came in, and Sapphire stood slowly, betraying a large swollen belly.<p>

"Logan, oh my God, I'd thought we'd never see you again," she said as she made her way across the room to hug the short thick man. Logan pressed her close to him and then held her at arm's length in shock.

"Who did this to you?" he asked.

"Eh, well, I guess Dino...It was kind of an accident."

"You can put it that way if you want, but I don't think rape was no accident," Hazel said as she pushed past her lover and into the room.

Shrugging Sapphire invited Logan in to join her, the only place he could sit was on a small foot stool, his wide frame dwarfing it. He felt odd, his hands were clenched in anger, but part of him knew this was probably what happened. Dino forced himself on Sapphire, and after she tried her best to fight him off, she'd left the club to never come back. What he hadn't anticipated was the pregnancy. Being in a family way was no easy task for a single woman and his friends didn't need the added stigma of single motherhood to add to everything they already faced.

"Sapphire, I'm going to go back to that club to slice that man open..."

The soft hand of Sapphire rested on the muscular shoulder of Logan, as she cooed at him, trying to control his temper. "Stop it. First off, my name is Patty; Sapphire was just a name for people who didn't need to know my real one. Second off, killing Dino won't undo anything and could very well put you in jail. Plus, this baby has a right to know who it's daddy is some day, and maybe Dino will do the right by it."

"I don't think Dino's ever done right by anyone," Hazel quipped from the edge of the bed.

"How can you defend him like that," Logan said as he stood up and glared at the pregnant woman sitting across from him. "Hazel's right, that man's never done right anyone in his life. What are you going to do anyways? Tell your baby his daddy wasn't even your lover, but rather a sick man who takes advantage of women, who are to powerless to say no? I have to be at work in forty five minutes, or I'd go down to that club right now and kill that bastard."

Patty covered her face and refused to look at Logan. As Logan gathered himself to exit the room Patty stood, and said to his back, "Kids deserve love, it doesn't matter how they are made, and they come into this world just the same. Dino's a son of a bitch, I'll give you that, but he doesn't deserve to die...not for this. God will provide justice, if not here on earth, then afterwards."

Logan watched the woman rocking back and forth in the chair and felt nothing but disgust at her complacency. He looked over at Hazel who shrugged and tried to smooth it over with a charismatic smile. Her smile wasn't very happy. Instead of continuing to fight with Patty, Logan slammed the door and headed off towards the docks, hoping a hard day's work would sooth his desire to rip Dino apart.

* * *

><p>Months passed, Logan had buried himself working on the docks. He found satisfaction in hours spent lifting heavy fright on the docks and coming home to exhausted to really think. When he didn't go straight to sleep, the ire of what had happened between himself, Patty, and Hazel would swim into his mind and cause his blood to heat. He'd decided to book voyage on the next vessel that would take him from the Port of Chicago out to sea towards a more exotic destination. It had been awhile sense he'd traveled the world and the way things were changing so fast, he looking forward to see if anything had stayed the same.<p>

The night before he was ready to leave, Logan smelled a familiar scent on the docks, and walked to the entrance to find Hazel waiting for him in the warming spring night. Logan paused and stared at her in her stylish brown dress and matching coat, wondering what she could possibly want from him. Hazel just smiled her sweet yet sad smile and put her hand on his arm, "Walk with me sailor," she said.

The couple moved on in silence for several blocks when Logan finally broached the silence, "What is it you want exactly, babe? Change your mind about revenge?"

"Nah, no need. Figured I should come see you and let you know what happened. Baby was born a couple weeks ago."

"Patty must be thrilled," Logan mumbled.

"I'm sure she would be, if she'd made it. Docs said her insides got all twisted...She bleed to death not long after her son was born."

Stopping on the cobblestone street Logan shook Hazel's hand off his arm and confronted her with angry eyes, "Why did you come here to tell me this?"

"Cause I figured she'd want you to know. We told them I was her maid, and that I had contact with her family, so the doctors let me see her before she gave birth. Some family in New England came and adopted the kid. Hope it goes out of this life happier than it came into it. Guess it'll never know who it's Mama was, or what she could do."

Watching Hazel quietly Logan had nothing to add that seemed worth saying. He felt numb and this news just furthered that deficit of emotion, assuring him that he just wasn't meant to get close to people. "You're cursed," he thought to himself.

"Does it pass on? Those special powers?" Hazel asked curiously.

"I don't know. I never had any kinds of my own that I know about. The few other special people I've met, well, they aren't the family types."

"I see. For his sake I hope he's normal. He'd look really funny growing up to shake his thing on a stage like his mom."

"Yeah, I guess. Look Hazel, I appreciate you tracking me down...I'm leaving tomorrow on a boat headed to the South Seas...Are you…did you land okay after she died?"

"I was always a singer at a black bar in the Negro district, and that ain't changing none. I always brought in enough to make a meager living, so I can keep the apartment and eat. It just...It won't be the same without her, you know?"

Nodding his head Logan looked forward down the endless streets, Chicago seemed like a labyrinth now, and good people were unable to crawl out of it. "Take care of yourself Hazel. Don't think we'll see each other again.

Noting a sad expression on his face, Hazel stroked Logans arm and responded, "I know honey, I know. Just thought you had a right to know what's been going on. Take care of yourself, and don't let things like this make you bitter."

With those words Hazel started walking down the gas lit streets of Chicago, casting unnatural shadows along the walls and buildings lining the way. Logan watched as she disappeared off into the darkness, the rest of her hard life ahead of her. He admired her ability to just stand right back up and face life again, but she had the one thing that he didn't. Death. Death was waiting for Hazel some day, and all of her mistakes would be behind her. Logan just had one long endless lifetime to churn over all of his decisions and indecisions, but for now his heart was full of enough sorrow to last him.

* * *

><p>Sitting in the X-Men mansion Logan turned over a beer bottle and flipped channels. A voice shouted something in his general direction and he lingered on a music channel just in time for a young musician's cover of an old tune from the 20's to start up. Trying to hear what the voices were carrying on about, the music had time to start up and shift into lyrics that seemed all to familiar to Logan. Focusing his attention on the television a young African American singer with purple streaks weaved into her hair churned out the old time tune with adept ability. Suddenly Logan was in Chicago, it was 1920, and a sign was flashing "Eats".<p>

A tall redhead woman walked into the room and stood over the TV. Jean put her hands on her hips and glared down at Logan, "Why don't you come to the entrance and meet the new recruit Logan? It would be nice if you would make some effort at making people feel at home."

Rolling his eyes Logan looked over the shoulder of Jean and saw a young Asian girl entering the room. The girl was wearing a loud yellow trench coat and smacking gum. Cocksure she walked up next to Jean and greeted the small hirsute man in front of her. "Hey, name's Jubilee."

The song coming to an end Logan clicked off the TV and looked at the raven haired girl in front of him. Her spunk mad her seem obnoxious, and he wondered why Jean had to bother introducing him to people he couldn't give a damn about. "What is it you do Logan?" Jubilee asked, having heard Jean say his name as she entered the room.

Wolverine responded by extending the metal claws on his hand, then retracting him back. He looked over and noticed the piercing gaze of the redhead, and knew she was trying to will him into be nice to the young girl. For the sake of diplomacy Logan responded, "What's your trick?"

"I'll show you," Jubilee said, "Now watch close."

Winking, Jubilee extended her forefinger and thumb like she was firing a pretend gun and said "Bang." A line of small electric explosions moved across the room and sparkled, but left no smell of gunpowder of smoke. After the fireworks settled, Wolverine realized he was staring at the girl with his mouth open, the words off the song he'd just heard echoing in his ears. Jean cocked her head at him, noticing that for the first time Logan seemed surprised.

"Are you alright?" Jean asked.

"Yeah, babe, just saw a ghost for a second," Logan responded. He settled back into the sofa and knocked back the beer. Jubilee looked at her tour guide with confusion, causing the red head to shrug. Wolverine turned the TV back on and stared at it like he was committed to not continuing this conversation and the two women continued on the tour. As their footsteps headed off towards the rear of the mansion Logan leaned forward and put his head in his hands.

"IF she wasn't Asian..." he muttered to himself, "Maybe life has a funny way of giving us second chances..."


End file.
